Collaborative Research: Caterpillars and Parasitoids in the Eastern Andes of Ecuador

植物、以植物为食的昆虫以及以昆虫为食的黄蜂和苍蝇(称为寄生蜂)是陆地森林生态系统的中心组成部分。这些植物和昆虫代表了世界上所有已描述生物的一半以上，并构成了未被发现的热带物种的更大比例。该项目包括厄瓜多尔安第斯山脉Yanayacu生物站(YBS)的密集植物、毛虫和寄生昆虫清单。其目标是：1)对YBS的不同毛虫和相关寄生昆虫群落进行采样和编目，以发现新物种并了解物种之间的相互作用；2)通过一个可供科学家和世界各地公众访问的可搜索数据库传播这一信息；以及3)发现自然历史信息，如毛虫的食物、发育时间以及昆虫以特定的草食动物和植物为食。这些信息被用来检验关于多样性是如何进化的假设，以及它如何影响生态系统稳定性、森林生产力或生态系统服务等变量。这项活动的学术价值包括在昆虫分类方面取得重大进展，为新物种命名，制定鉴定指南，向专家提供具有相关分子数据的标本，以及提供可用于赤道安第斯山脉(全球生物多样性热点)保护工作的重要清单。这些数据还将用于解决各种基本和应用问题，特别是与气候变化和生物多样性有关的问题。该项目的更广泛影响包括多名当地现场助理、资深科学家、博士后研究人员、协作昆虫专家、研究生和本科生的直接参与。因此，该项目加强了国际科学对话和关系。该项目包括加强针对少数民族的科学教育和研究体验方案。

Plants, plant-feeding insects, and insect-feeding wasps and flies (known as parasitoids) are central components of terrestrial forest ecosystems. These plants and insects represent more than half of all described organisms in the world and comprise a larger proportion of undiscovered tropical species. This project consists of an intensive plant, caterpillar, and parasitoid insect inventory at the Yanayacu Biological Station (YBS) in the Ecuadorian Andes. The objectives are: 1) to sample and catalog the diverse community of caterpillars and associated parasitoid insects at YBS to discover new species and understand interactions between species; 2) to disseminate this information with a searchable database accessible to scientists and the public throughout the world; and 3) to discover natural history information, such as caterpillar diets, development times, and what insects feed upon specific herbivores and plants. Such information is used to test hypotheses about how diversity evolved and how it affects variables such as ecosystem stability, forest productivity, or ecosystem services. The intellectual merit of this activity includes significant advances in insect classification by naming new species, developing identification guides, providing specimens with associated molecular data to experts, as well as providing a critical inventory that can be used in conservation efforts in the equatorial Andes (a global hot-spot of biodiversity). These data will also be used to address a variety of basic and applied questions, particularly those associated with climate change and biodiversity. The broader impacts of this project include direct involvement of multiple local field assistants, senior scientists, postdoctoral researchers, collaborating insect specialists, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Therefore the project strengthens international scientific dialogue and relationships. The project includes enhancements in science education and research experience programs for minorities.